Well with the price of High Octane fuels going thru the roof how about propane? Higher octane, cleaner and advance timing Who's running it? and any leads on a How-to do a change over ? Were do you get parts for a change over?
It's a pretty easy swap. The biggest probem is where to put your tank. You can get what you need from this guy : www.propaneguy.com He can answer all your questions.
There are a ton of 4x4 guys doing this. I've been researching it myself too.......From what I am finding the dual fuel setups dont work anywhere near as good as just a full swap http://www.gotpropane.com/
Have you priced propane lately? It's following gas prices. Not as high yet, but I usually buy 400 gallons at a time and get a small price break.
I ran a Chevy van for over 100,000 miles on Propane. Clean burning (Cali smog exempt) higher octane (around 110 if I remember) Cheaper! Oil stayed clean much longer, plugs lasted a long time. Down sides; Less BTU's so mileage and power dropped about 10%, but it could have taken more compression and cam to make up for it, Hard to find (Propane sold for BBQ's is NOT legal as a motor fuel) tank placement is tough, they have to be round and are very heavy. Overall in the van it was great but might be tough to package in a hot rod. My conversion was done by Impco http://www.impco.ws/
Working on running an early hemi irrigation conversion on compressed natural gas using the propane set up that came on it ,changing the orfice,alot cheaper than propane.
I just called to see what prices are at locally. 150-300 gallons is $2.49 gal over 300 is $2.40 Now, if you have a big tank for your house you can get a hose that will allow you to fill your smaller tanks. You could hide a tank or 2 in the bed of an RPU with a tarp or tonneau cover. As stated above Impco is the main supplier in the US. I would bet money that those 4wd guys are just repackaging an impco setup and reselling.
i heard the other night that propane is tax free, so the feds probably wouldn't like seeing that on the road.
So how does one get propane for their vehicle? Is this federal or state? My dad runs his truck on propane and has never had a problem, he delivers propane for a living, so he can get it in bulk and for cost and it makes sense for him.
Ha ,,like we sould give a fuck what they like..they are the reason we have to look out side the box to drive our machines
I know a couple of tow truck operators that run propane. Here the problem is that you are charged the road tax just like gas.
In Cali, the propane sold for BBQ's and RV's supposedly isn't as clean as the motor fuel IE; had contaminants in it. It also doesn't have the road tax that they charge when sold as a motor fuel so it's cheaper. I ran my van on "RV stove" propane from KOA a couple of times and it didn't seam to run any different. I think it's the same stuff, they just want their tax $$. Hell my system had 3 filters anyway. They say the fine can be huge for avoiding taxes.
There have been some good threads that you should easily find here on the HAMB by putting this text into a Google search: propane site:http://www.jalopyjournal.com Thanks, Kurt
Might be an option that I would explore, if getting a tank added to the old cars would be feasible. I have a 300 lb tank of LP for auxilliary heat (that is rarely used) that could be a good source. LP is currently about $3/gal here. Premium gas is $4/gal. My work used to have a fleet of dual fuel cars (CNG and Gas). Biggest problem was getting the CNG refueled outside of the metro area as there were very few CNG stations in the rural areas. I suspect that LPG would be more widely available.
Been there & still doing that on two vehicles for over 25 yrs. One a 72 merc PU with a built 460 & the other is my 48 merc coupe with a built 351w. My last 460 went 325,000 miles before it got tired but still clean as hell on the inside. My new 460 has over 120,000 miles and is still going strong.I love the stuff, as it's 103 + octane & yes they are jacking the price of it around now.They gotta screw you regardless of what fuel you use.
The Jalopy Journal
